"They're good." Leon whispered, ignoring the fact that Anna's back was pressed against his chest while they peeped through the window.
"Y-yes!" Anna nodded, her breathing uneven. Being a young girl, her mind was still fresh and being in such close proximity with a guy made her red.
Unfortunately, it seemed Leon wasn't sharing her thoughts for now. Instead, his attention was drawn to the calm zombies surrounding the supermarket.
"A Second Level zombie is controlling them." He said to himself, then smiled. "My prey."
...
As the mutated dog faced the relentless and coordinated attacks of the three evolved humans, it began to consider running.
Its mouth closed on Daddy Ye's head, but he leaned back, its teeth clamping on his axe instead. Sparks flew.
"Ye!" Ice shouted, swinging again, her blade cutting a frosty line along the dog's flank.
Old Pipe appeared, his hammer striking the beast's back cleanly.
Boom!
Rooaarr!
Roaring in pain, the dog stepped back—ready to run for it. At this moment, Ice appeared again, then stabbed into its neck with startling strength. The wound froze over instantly.
Slowly, the mutated dog's eyes turned lifeless. With a thud, it fell to the ground.
Ice panted, a smile on her face. "We killed it."
The others could understand her joy. After all, that meant getting a Second Level crystal.
"Uh, guys? I think you should look around." The only girl among the non-fighters called out, pointing at the horde surrounding them. By now, the zombies had numbered up to two hundred.
Old Pipe's expression froze, dumbfounded.
"What the hell—?" Daddy Ye muttered in shock. Although the numbers of zombies were startling, the uneasy factor was how coordinated they were. Something or someone was definitely controlling them.
As if to confirm his claims, a zombie walked out from the crowd. Unlike others, it was unusually tall, around seven feet. Its rotten skin had turned gray, while disturbingly long claws elongated from its hands. On its bald head was a yellow essence crystal.
"Second Level zombie."
Ice said grimly, her eyes narrowed.
Grrr~!
It growled, the sound causing the horde behind it to stir. Before it could do any other thing though, another presence arrived on the battlefield.
Strapped in his all-black combat suit and the katanas hung behind him, Leon stepped out of the building he was hiding leisurely, his purple eyes fixatemd on the Second Level zombie.
Daddy Ye's eyes shrunk. Although the wind only blew slightly, it exposed the crystal on Leon's head briefly.
'A zombie using swords? A First Level at that? Shouldn't they all be mindless?'
He tensed, hands gripping his axe tightly. Perhaps, today's battle was going to be a bloodbath.
"Who are you?"
Old Pipe asked, holding a faint hope that the new arrival was on their side. Unlike Daddy Ye, he hadn't seen the crystal on Leon's head.
Leon turned to him, then spoke calmly. "I'm here for the zombies. For now."
Ice eyed him warily, suspecting that he was here to steal the truck. However, she didn't say a word. Instead, she allowed Old Pipe to decide.
"Alright. Let's work together then." The old man smiled, then turned to the four non-fighters. "Go hide in the supermarket. We'll get you guys when we're done."
The four nodded, then hurriedly shuffled into the supermarket, locking the door behind them.
The Second Level Zombie growled at Leon, sensing that he was a zombie. However, he seemed to be siding with the humans. Without giving it much thoughts, it gave its subordinates an order to attack.
The howls and roars of the zombies shattered the air as they rushed at the four in a mad frenzy.
Bang!
Old Pipe slammed his hammer to the ground, lightning crawling on the ground. Several zombies were turned to charred corpses instantly while others trudged over their comrades just to attack.
Daddy Ye and Ice also attacked simultaneously.
Unexpectedly, the zombies ignored Leon entirely, allowing him to face the Second Level zombie.
"This time, I'm not letting your crystal slip away, Tallest."
He whispered to the zombie, then unsheathed his katanas.
The zombie, now dubbed Tallest, growled at him, then attacked.
Its unnaturally long claws shot down at him, but Leon calmly deflected the attack with a twirl of his blades.
Stepping into the zombie's flank, he unsheathed his hunting knife and stabbed its torso in quick successions.
Roar~!
It howled in pain, then recoiled, realizing Leon was more of a threat than it imagined. With a roar, it lunged at him, muscles bulging unnaturally.
Blow after blow came with increased ferocity, pushing Leon back step by step. His expression was focused. Everytime the zombie moved, he prepared to intercept. Thus, although the zombie attacked with all its strength, the force reaching Leon was already halved.
When Tallest swiped again, Leon didn't just block. He flowed with the strike, body twisting in an almost inhuman arc. His left katana hooked the claw aside, while his right slashed upward, carving across the zombie's forearm. Black blood splattered. One claw finally slipped through his guard—
Shhhhk!
It carved across his side, peeling skin in bloody strips.
"You're persistent." Leon scowled as the claws grazed his side, drawing blood.
Away from him, Old Pipe's eyes narrowed. 'He's taking blows froh the zombie like it's nothing. However, he got scratched. Won't he be turned if he doesn't get the venom out?'
Unfortunately, the old man couldn't help for now, his hands were full.
"Go to hell, son of bitches!"
His hammer glowed with lightning as he activated his class—Thunderstorm. A combat-oriented class, it gave its user access to lightning element, drawing from their energy reserves as evolved.
Behind him, Daddy Ye cleaved through the horde like a butcher. His thick frame bulged with muscles, cleaving through several zombies with a single swing of his axe.
"Don't let them bite or scratch you. You'll become one of them." He reminded them, having seen such a situation in the past.
Ice meanwhile, was struggling under the pressure of the zombies. Without a wide area attack ability, she wasn't able to kill the zombies quickly, not when she had to watch out for every bite and scratch.
Watching Leon fight the Second Level zombie from afar, she felt her heart roll in waves. How could someone be so impressive?
Ignorant of her thoughts, Leon ducked beneath the zombie's arms, then slashed at its waist.
The zombie howled, staggering, but its body refused to fall. Instead, it swung with berserk fury, claws scything through the air like executioner's blades.
Clang! Clang! Shhk!
The duel turned into a storm of steel and bone. Every clash echoed like a gunshot. Sparks and blood mixed in the air, filling the battlefield with the metallic stench of blood and rot.
Leon's chest heaved, wounds dripping crimson, but his strikes only grew sharper, more fluid, like his body was learning Tallest's rhythm with every clash.
Finally, Tallest overextended—a downward claw that embedded into the ground, cracking pavement. Leon didn't hesitate.
One katana stabbed the trapped palm further into the dirt. The other katana spun in a gleaming arc.
SSHHHK!
It carved clean through Tallest's other arm at the elbow. The severed arm dropped, twitching on the ground.
"Raaaghh!"The zombie bellowed, staggering back.
Leon's smile widened, teeth faintly bloodstained. "Now you're mine."
He sprinted forward, dual blades whirling like fangs. Steel flashed again and again, cutting into the zombie's chest, shoulder, thigh—a relentless storm of slashes.
Tallest reeled, body shredded, blood spraying like a fountain.
Then Leon leapt, both katanas raised. For a split second, his silhouette framed against the skyline looked less like a man—and more like a predator descending for the kill.
SLICE!
Both blades stabbed into Tallest's skull, piercing through rotted bone with a crunch that echoed across the street. The zombie convulsed, arms flailing helplessly before it collapsed to its knees.
Leon twisted both katanas with a sharp crack. The skull split open.
Slowly, deliberately, he reached inside with his bare, bloodied hand. His fingers wrapped around the warm, glowing crystal embedded in its skull. With one final pull, he tore it free, holding it high as Tallest's massive body slumped lifelessly to the ground.
A yellow essence crystal gleamed in his palm, dripping blood.
Leon's violet eyes glowed brighter, reflecting the crystal's shine.
The battlefield went silent. Even the trio fighting the horde faltered for a second, staring at him.
Leon just closed his hand around the crystal, blades dripping with gore, his small smile never fading.